Crisscrossing Between SG and MY

Yellow.

Patawad, dear readers, for not being able to write here last week. I was in Singapore during the long weekend (Happy Malaysia Day!) and I spent much of the first few days of last week resting.

Strange, right? I was in Singapore for Malaysia Day. If I were Malaysian, that would be very unpatriotic of me, but then again I'm just a foreigner in this foreign land.

Hello, SG.

So anyway, I grabbed the opportunity to travel and visit friends since, by the last quarter of this year, my passport and visa will keep me from getting out of Malaysia again. And I work during Saturday mornings so... Thank God for long weekends.

There comes a stage in your travelling life when people become more important than places. You won't care if you spend the day bumming around at home or if you meet up wherever just as long as you get to spend time with, you know, people close to your heart.

That's exactly what I did.

I can't say that didn't come with a price though. Here I go again with my travelling misadventures. But don't worry, nothing big this time.

I learned that it's very hard to find good parking spots when you're in transit during long weekends. I usually leave my car at Terminal Bersepandu Selatan (at Bandar Tasik Selatan) when I travel. I do this because: (1) I can ride a train to LCCT and KLIA there; and (2) I can ride buses to and from Singapore/Johor Bahru there, too. Parking costs RM 3 per day, it's covered, and security is quite good.

But then again, when everyone in KL is travelling and making balik kampung - be warned. I had to fit Caleb into this non-parking spot next to a Kancil that Saturday. After 30 minutes of circling the two levels. Yeah, there are just two park-able levels (hey wait, can we park at level 4?) so that explains the lack of good parking spots.

Mehehehehe.

Anyway, I got to Singapore in one piece. I was able to leave in one piece, too. It was my first time to ride the bus from Larkin again and not directly from SG like what we did last time. It's cheaper but a bit less convenient when it comes to time because you have to allot some hours into crossing the border. Well, I just slept. Whenever I opened my eyes to take a peep of what was happening outside, all I could see was heavy traffic. The bus left JB at 7:00PM and got to TBS at 1:00AM. So there you go - that's the long weekend traffic for you.

I enjoyed the ride though. It made me feel nostalgic of the long bus rides from Manila to Baguio City, my home town.

Well, that's all for now. I'll be back next year, Singapore.

I wonder where I put my EZ Link?

Passion and Excellence

There's something inspiring about watching people execute their crafts with utmost passion and excellence. It makes you want to break out from a life brimming with apathy and mediocrity. It makes you want to break into a life exuding so much more.

My friends and I went to a concert at the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP), home of the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO), this Sunday, September 8. It was our first time there and I am sure it wouldn't be our last.

The show was entitled "The Art of the Countertenor" and featured British countertenor Robin Blaze. Boy, did he surprise us with his voice. Countertenors are those male singers having the vocal range of female contraltos. I associate myself to being a contralto (it's supposed to be the lowest female voice type) but his range is even higher than mine! His falsetto is so clean, his breathing control is so astounding, and if you had your eyes closed the whole time, you would have thought it was a woman singing.

Here's a YT vid I found of him. You know, so you wouldn't have to keep imagining.

My mouth must have been half-open throughout his entire performance. He was amazing. And he had this cheerful countenance. I like how he felt every emotion of the music, how he kept in tune with the conductor and the rest of the orchestra.

THE CONDUCTOR AND THE ORCHESTRA. How can I even begin to explain all the emotions I felt while watching them do their thing onstage? One moment I was smiling. Another moment I was gaping. The next moment I was smiling again.

It was fun watching the individual players put all their passion into playing their songs. Some played with brows furrowed in deep concentration. Others played smiling, their eyes twinkling like the lights that shone on us from the ceiling (sorry, photography wasn't allowed inside the hall). Others played expressively with an eyebrow arching from time to time, with a lip twitching in amusement every now and then. They made me want to try my hand at the violin again. But on second thought - nah. How could my skills even begin to compare with theirs?

Did I say we were seated in the second front row seats? With nobody sitting in the row before us? We were so close to the stage we could see the drops of perspiration forming on the conductor's face.

Oh the conductor! He was, of course, wonderful. So. Expressive. I'm sure most conductors are. But it was my first time to see a real conductor onstage and this man, Bernard Labadie, was amazing. He was very energetic and appreciative. I liked the way he embraced and shook hands with Robin Blaze at the end.

Watching a conductor conduct was something. Somehow, I could imagine how creation must have played out, seeing the maestro bring each instrument to life with a gesture from his hand and with a stroke from his baton.

Our ticket envelope said, "We wish you a memorable concert experience." Indeed, ours was a very noteworthy one. Who wants to come here with us next time?

Raya-Induced Food Coma

My tummy is still on Hari Raya break. It's been jumping up and down with glee because it was filled to the brim with wonderful Malaysian Cuisine.

This is not good for my diet.

I'm going to start hitting the gym (faithfully) again, soon.

But like my Iranian officemate said last Friday, "Malaysian food is soooooo goooood." It is. And so I present to you some munchies which have been invading my tummy for the past few weeks or so.

1. Cendol

When I first came to Malaysia for a cultural exchange trip last 2008, my mother had only two directives: 1) Take lots of pictures; and 2) Try the Durian Cendol. I did both but Multiply has unfortunately made all the pictures I took back then disappear into oblivion. But the Durian Cendol... mmmm. I didn't try cendol with "stinky socks" at the time (I forgot that she specifically said it should be Durian Cendol) but I fell in love with the dessert nonetheless.

Cendol is made of green worm-like jelly, beans, coconut milk, and gula melaka (palm sugar). It's basically heaven in a cup. Though, at first glance, the "worms" do leave a lot to be desired.

2. Nasi Kerabu

Granted, I only ate the fish and not the nasi, but this Kelantan dish is a must try. Nasi Kerabu is blue rice (made blue because of coloring by butterfly-pea flowers) eaten with chicken, fish (usually cat fish), or beef, sided with fish crackers, red eggs, greens, anchovies, and sambal kelapa (coconut flaked fish). The combination of the different tastes and textures is amazing.

And top everything off with the sauce from Yati Ayam Percik - hallelujah.

3. Dry Chilli Pan Mee

Dry Chilli Pan Mee. Pork Chilli Pan Mee, please. Yes, pork. Though a majority of Malaysians are Muslims and halal eateries are mainstream, many Chinese restaurants still let pork-eating people like me satisfy their piggy cravings with various dishes like bak kut teh, char siew pau, etc. It was my first time to try Dry Chilli Pan Mee this Sunday. It was... yum. Twas a bit hard to eat the thick, savory noodles with chopsticks though. Good thing there were a lot of tissues at hand, because, if there weren't any, my face would have been a complete mess by the time the meal was over.

4. Raya Cookies

One of my officemates brought in Raya Cookies after the Raya Break last month! Wouldn't it be nice if we could eat them all year long? But that wouldn't make them special any more, right? Raya Cookies come in all shapes, flavors, and colors. Take your pick. You have the entire Raya Season to feast on them. Yum, yum, yum, yum.

I have to wake up from a Raya-induced food coma soon. 

Well, enjoy. Makan, makan, makan!

On Elephants and TiGer Shows

19 August 2013

Oh Best Beloved,

We were in Bangkok, Thailand during the long weekend. But of course, you already know that. We were there for ICPM 4 so we didn't get to tour much. We had one free afternoon, though, and the stories I shall share will come from that time of exploring.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. Google maps says Damnoen Saduak is 103 kilometers away from Phaya Thai Bangkok. That's a 1-hour-25-minute-or-so ride if you're going at the speed of - something. You do the math. Anyway, since we wanted to try something new and wanted to see something other than the temples of Thailand, we decided to go there and discover what the floating markets were all about.

Imagine a village where the road system is made up of rivers and canals. To get to your next door neighbour, you have to hop on a tiny boat and row yourself over. To buy fruits or groceries, you have to paddle away and haggle with fruit vendors riding small boats themselves. That's Damnoen Saduak.

Water, water everywhere.

Friendly vendor.

Branded items are available. LV and Gucci, anyone?

Going over the selection of fruits.

Monkey Show. We didn't buy much in Damnoen. Mostly, we were in it for the ride. It was fun nonetheless and had us geared up for the next part of our adventure - the monkey show. It was enjoyable but the poor things were tied up while they were doing their routines. What would they say if I told them about the freedom that my monkey friends had in my kolej in UKM?

Poor monkey was bored and tired.

The show was rather short. That's why when our tour guides suggested we go see the TiGer shows next we almost jumped into the opportunity to do so. That is until we realized he wasn't talking about tigers as in the striped, gigantic felines. Oh no. He was talking about ThaiGirls. 

Uh. No thanks.

At least we got to see some elephants.

I promised you I'd catch an elephant!

Royal Palace. We rode back to the city soon after. Most of the temples had already closed down so we said we'd just drop by the outer courts of the Royal Palace before dinner. It's too bad we weren't able to go inside. I could imagine how majestic it was. We only got a shot of the palace's rooftops. It was beautiful, nonetheless.

This was the best shot I could get.

Night Market. We went to the night market after dinner. I didn't dare get any pictures - I was too busy trying to protect my hand bag. We were pretty tired so we didn't do much shopping. As soon as we had bought all the pasalubongs we needed to buy, we were off.

So there you go. Thailand. It was different from the Hat Yai experience. One day I might come back for the temples and the palace.

Missing you,

Mari

Those Were The Days

I woke early this Saturday, tossing and turning between 4:30AM and 5:30AM. Bouts of homesickness and loneliness usually overcome me during those wee hours in the morning so I decided to just get up and make myself some breakfast.

Staring at the dark sky outside my living room window, I suddenly remembered how my old life used to be. Back when I lived in Kajang, I would already be wide awake during that time. 5:30AM. I'd be taking a shower or I'd be fixing myself up some peanut butter on toast - whatever. I'd be doing anything but sleeping.

My route to work was perfectly timed. I was still on probation, I was running on a tight budget, and any minute of lateness on my part would throw my schedule off by at least a half hour or so or would cost an additional coupon amounting to RM 13 or so.

I had to be at Perhentian Kajang by 6:20AM to catch either the Rapid KL U40 or the BAS MINI. Since the sun rises later here in Malaysia, it would still be dark out and the morning call to prayer would just be starting to fill the sleepy semi-provincial part of town where I lived in.

Dawn would have not yet broken out by the time I would reach the Kajang KTM Station. I had to be there to catch the 6:40AM train. KTM trains are popular for not arriving on time but I noticed that the morning ones were still rather punctual.

KTM Kajang at 6:30AM.

My next stop was three stations away - UKM, Serdang, and then finally Bandar Tasik Selatan. At Bandar Tasik Selatan, depending on how slow the KTM was, I would usually make a mad dash for the ERL - I had to catch the 7:10AM KLIA Transit or else I would have had to get the 7:40AM train instead.

The next train arrives in 7 minutes.

The train only made it as far as Putrajaya - I had to take another two buses to Cyberjaya. One bus to the city centre, another to my workplace. The bus from Putrajaya left between 7:30AM-7:45AM. The bus from the city centre came every 15 minutes during weekdays so I'd catch the 8:00AM or 8:15AM bus, making it just in time for the 8:30AM clock in. 

Rapid KL Bus at Cyberjaya.

I did that whole shebang for an entire half year before we decided to move somewhere more accessible. Instead of starting my commute at 6:40AM, this time, I started going out of the house at 7:10AM. Big difference, I know. Lol. 

I did that for another five months. And then I eventually got myself a car.

Would you believe that my morning commute now takes 20-30 minutes, giving me more time to sleep in and dream during the mornings?

Sigh. Those were the days, those were the days. :)

I'm thankful that I went through all that. It makes me grateful for every convenience I have now, reminding me not to take the blessings I have for granted. It reminds me that everything is worth it, everything's going to be worth it all, as long as you have the determination to stick it out and overcome.

Yep. It's gonna be worth it all.

It's going to be worth it all. :)